“Are we in danger of condemning our Children to lives of abject misery?”

Former oilfield executive Ian R Crane has engaged industry sources and independent researchers to lay the foundations for his investigations into fracking – mining of shale and coal seam gas. In “Fractured Future – It doesn’t have to be this way”, a nationwide speaking tour, Ian asks whether this ‘miracle’ of nature really will be the solution to our nation’s problems? Is it going to be the best thing for us since North Sea gas, or are there hidden dangers which could impact upon communities in ways which need open discussion?

Across the UK, a backdrop of unemployment, national debt and austerity is creating a distraction from more long-term problems. While such issues will take decades to address, the potential hazards brewing in the background, which the wider public remain complacent about, are likely to take centuries to put right. Ian considers whether corporate profits are being put ahead of the health, safety and the well-being of our natural environment. We are subjected to increasing restrictions on food choices and health choices, all in the name of protecting us. We have more surveillance and monitoring to safeguard us, and further restrictions on the media are forthcoming. Are such actions justified, and considering our safety is being seen as paramount in these areas, will fracking be subjected to equal levels of caution?

Our national debt has risen by 4%, from 82% to 86% of our Gross Domestic Product, despite all the austerity measures put in place – creating a Trillion Dollar Debt. As experts will tell you, once it goes beyond 100% (where UK debt will be more than annual turnover) our problems will escalate. Is fracking a short-term gain for a long-term loss? A credit crunch turned into an environmental crunch, while bankers’ bonuses continue to escalate?

Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda are being fought and funded by the West at one and the same time, and yet the people of Britain just shrug their shoulders. Are we heading towards another World War, and if so, who actually is the enemy? With the unlimited power supposedly presented to us via fracking worldwide, will global peace break out, or will this represent the beach-head in the next battle for energy supremacy?

This event will include an opportunity to question Ian on his analysis of the unfolding geo-political agenda.

Prior to becoming an Independent Analyst, Ian R Crane had two decades of experience in the oil and gas industries as a Schlumberger executive, working and living in the UK, Mainland Europe, Middle East & North America.

]]>https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/fracktured-future-nottingham-talk-7-30pm-mon-22nd-april-2013/feed/0MatLet’s sign ALL the Bedroom Tax petitionshttps://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/sign-all-bedroom-tax-petitions/
https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/sign-all-bedroom-tax-petitions/#respondMon, 25 Mar 2013 21:25:33 +0000http://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/?p=229Continue reading →]]>On Friday NCC LOLs posted a blog post giving some thoughts on the Bedroom Tax and Nottingham City Council’s response to it. This included mentioning the petition they’ve started and encouraging readers to sign it, but adding “Just please make sure you sign all the others too.”

The link is to a simple Google search of “bedroom tax petition” but immediately on its loading you can see there really are quite a few different petitions going. I personally don’t think petition-signing is going to stop the Bedroom Tax; but it might form part of a campaign against it by demonstrating how many people are against it, alongside all the other measures we need to take. But wouldn’t it be best if we took NCC LOLs’ advice and signed all of them, rather than just one?

So I have done the work of collecting the URLs and website names here for you; you can just click each of them and sign. Should take 15 minutes.

The link to this was included in an email from CJ Lyon of PCM Creative. Uploaded by Phil Campbell. Marsha Smith gives an inspirational talk on the importance of communal and nutritional eating and her activities to date including the Secret Kitchen Café in Sneinton and what we can do to join in and support the idea.

go to where they are, and where they feel comfortable being engaged and learning

using peer cascade techniques: engaging with the bolder members of a community first and letting the more hesitant see that it is an enjoyable and useful activity.

be patient and modest in our expectations

]]>https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/how-do-we-engage-%e2%80%9cmissing%e2%80%9d-learners-those-experiencing-digital-exclusion-what-could-we-do/feed/2MatWhat is your definition of digital inclusion or e-inclusion?https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/what-is-your-definition-of-digital-inclusion-or-e-inclusion/
https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/what-is-your-definition-of-digital-inclusion-or-e-inclusion/#commentsWed, 05 Oct 2011 13:17:16 +0000http://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/?p=215It is the job of engaging with the parts of the population who have not yet learnt to benefit from digital technology and helping them to do so.

]]>https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/what-is-your-definition-of-digital-inclusion-or-e-inclusion/feed/2MatTest post for DAIN EST traininghttps://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/test-post-for-dain-est-training/
https://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/test-post-for-dain-est-training/#respondWed, 05 Oct 2011 11:06:45 +0000http://matmcveagh.wordpress.com/?p=203Continue reading →]]>This post is a test of WordPress posting as part of the training for the European Study Trip to Belgium with the DAIN project, led by Steven Walker. We are in the studio room of the Broadway Media Centre.